It is illegal for residents to purchase alcohol outside the Commonwealth and bring it home without paying the appropriate sales tax through the Pa. Liquor Control Board.

If someone from Pennsylvania purchases a bottle of wine in Delaware, Maryland, New York, or any other state or country for that matter, and brings it home, they would be breaking the law.

But it isn't likely that someone who commutes to Maryland for work and picks up some booze on the way home would be convicted of the violation.

"We're not out there looking for people stopping on their way home from work," said Captain Thomas Butler, director of operations for the state police's Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement. "We're looking at people buying large quantities (of alcohol) and not paying the Pennsylvania tax on it to save money."

Eric Shirk, one of Gov. Tom Corbett's press secretaries, said he believes privatizing alcohol sales would cut down on border sales.

"Why leave the state when you can get everything here for a competitive price?" Shirk said.

Richard Fisher, owner of Freeland Wine and Spirits in Freeland, Md., just a few miles south of the Mason-Dixon Line, said that since Pennsylvania's liquor prices are higher than Maryland's, he gets some business from Pennsylvania residents.

He is not certain what private sales in Pennsylvania would to do his customer base of border patrons.

A bill to privatize alcohol sales in the Commonwealth will likely be introduced sometime in March.

Butler said his department focuses on liquor-license holders who stock up on a cheaper product for their bars or restaurants. They keep a close eye on the Pennsylvania-Delaware border, where there is the largest price discrepancy, he said.

The agency learned the hard way not to focus too much on a citizen buying some alcohol for dinner.

When Butler was serving as station commander of the state police's Gettysburg Barracks from 1998 to 2001, Liquor Control Enforcement stopped and arrested someone bringing alcohol into Pennsylvania from Maryland.

Butler said Liquor Control Enforcement took too much of a beating in the press after the fallout of the citizen being hit with a $240 fine that it wasn't worth the hassle.

TIMELINE:

Prior to 2002, Pennsylvania's liquor stores were required to close on Sundays.

In 2002, the law was amended to allow 10 percent of the stores in the state to operate on Sundays.

In 2004 an act passed that allowed 25 percent of the state stores to conduct business on Sundays.

PENALTIES:

People caught bringing alcohol into Pennsylvania would face a $25 summary violation for each bottle.